DMP mutual support thread part 13 !!

colink24

Hi all

Wanted to say a big thank you for the support ive had in the past with advice on this forum.

I managed to get into £25k of debt, largely due to not adjusting when we had a child and my wife coming out of work. This resulted in many missed payments and subsequent defaults. I managed to get on a DMP, paying £415 for the past 3 years or so and my debt now stands at £6k. During this time, weve managed to save £16,000, which we hope to use as a deposit on a property, although I understand obtaining a mortgage whilst in a DMP and defaults on credit file wont be easy. 

My credit file is clean for the past two years, and I have a credit card, paid off every month in full, plus a £250 overdraft which I never use. Credit card limit was increased from initial £500 to £2250 within 6 months.

Thanks again, it can be done!

RebeccaO26

Hi all,

I've just started my DMP and I'm feeling pretty good about gaining control back in my life again.  However, a promotion at work has just come up that would more than double my salary (I'm part time and the promoted role is full time which accounts for a lot of that).  I've applied and have a good shot at it but it would involve moving cities.  I currently live at home with my family and pay £230 per month board - I've never actually not lived at home.  I'm really concerned about trying to rent in a new city now that my credit rating has taken such a hit.  I've no references from landlords previously however I could get personal references from friends and employers.  

I just wondered if my DMP would stand in the way of me finding a rental?  Its one of the main things about this potential move that is causing me a fair bit of anxiety.  

Willing2Learn

People are successful all the time in finding appropriate rental accommodation whilst being in debt or on a DMP.  Try not to worry...It is only a 'soft' search...Just make sure you have the necessary cash deposit available for your imminent move.  Let the money do the talking....

Skittlesjo

Evening all, 

I intend to read back through all of the posts (May take a while) but I was after a bit of advise. I managed to get my debt down from a total of £18k to £9k and 8 creditors, I’ve been through my finances and am trying to avoid the debt management plan route. Therefore I was hoping to token pay creditors for the duration of 7 months whilst paying off my creditors in full. Ex: 3 small creditors May, 1 by July, 1 by August etc. This way by November I would only be left with 2 creditors and my overdraft which I can pay off with what I would have been using on the others. This would prevent me from being on a 2 year DMP with SC. What are others experiences with token payments? Or Am I living in cloud cuckoo land??
Hope you’re all staying safe x

19ryanh93

Hi all 
i was just wondering if anyone had any letter templates to request an account to be defaulted. I have 2 accounts defaulted and 3 set as AP. Also one account was sold onto PRA about 2 months ago. Is it worth asking for the CCA?

thanks

sourcrates

19ryanh93 said:

Hi all 
i was just wondering if anyone had any letter templates to request an account to be defaulted. I have 2 accounts defaulted and 3 set as AP. Also one account was sold onto PRA about 2 months ago. Is it worth asking for the CCA?

thanks

Dear Creditor,

I wish to make a complaint, i am very unhappy that you have marked my account as an "arrangement to pay", essentially you are treating me worse than someone who ignores there debt completly, they would be defaulted, yet i am re-paying my indebtedness to you, but my credit file must suffer almost twice as long with these AP markers.

I do not think this is fair, guidelines state an account should be defaulted within 3/6 missed contractural payments.

I would ask you to please default my account, and backdate the default to the start of my DMP, in line with current legislation.

regards

[Deleted User]

Remus1975 said:

Hi all. I'm in month three of my long DMP journey. I have sent off CCA requests and had 4 out of 7 reply. Just had my first Notice of Default.. from Creation of all creditors! I was expecting a battle with these looking at some of the problems they've caused others on this thread.

Just one question.. a couple of the CCA's I have had sent don't have an address, name or signature on. It just seems to be a copy of their credit agreement but without my details on the documents. Is this sufficient or should I be asking them for a copy with my details on there? 

Thanks in advance

Sorry, I can't really advise on the CCA situation but I wanted to add a comment about the Notice of Default that you mentioned.  It seems very early into your DMP for an actual default to be issued.  Not all that surprising if you'd missed lots of payments before though.  Creditors are duty bound to churn out these 'threats' of default and usually send one whenever they communicate with you about other matters, send statements etc.  It usually means they 'may' default you unless you pay up.  Pretty meaningless really, I could wallpaper my boxroom with all the 'default notices' I received from some of my creditors.  The shortest time it took any of my 7 to actually default was 6 months into my DMP but prior to that I'd never missed a payment to them.  When they actually do default, rather than just threaten to, they'll tell you the actual date on which it will happen if my memory serves correctly.

I hope yours really was a full default.  Sorry to have rained on your parade.  Good luck with your DMP journey.  Signing up for a DMP with Stepchange was the best thing I ever did financially and I'm now debt-free after what seems like a lifetime of worrying about where the next payment was coming from.

cottonbud12

Hi, I've been a member on here for quite some time but generally just a reader to get advice. Now is the time that I could do with some advice. 
In a nutshell, due to issues with gambling and mental health over the years, I have run up huge credit card debts (approx £36k). I am completely ashamed of myself but as an addiction, I was only happy when gambling. I feel I now have this under control and would like to start getting back on track. 
I was until recently in a highly paid job (£66k per year) but due to Covid-19, I have had to change jobs due to being no longer required and looking at a significant reduction in income to around £30k per year. This is going to severely impact my ability to repay my debts, technically by only just managing the minimum payments per month. 
Part of me is thinking about getting a £30k loan to pay back at £500 per month for about 7 years, which whilst not clearing my total credit card debt and turning this in to a fixed payment per month, will potentially alleviate some of the stress I am under. 
I've researched other options on Stepchange and their recommendation (online) was a DMP. The thing is, I am married but whilst my other half knew I used to gamble quite heavily, they do not know the significance of my debts and it would destroy us if they were to find out. We own our home outright and I cannot re-mortgage or sell the house as again, I cannot involve my partner in my situation. 
So, my question is, do I attempt to ride this matter our hoping I can secure a better salary going forward, aim to repay my credit card debts and have absolutely no life or income left whatsoever or take the plunge and seek a DMP. All my creditors are up to date with payments and I have only ever missed one payment, which was an oversight on my behalf.
Apologies for the long post and thanks in advance for any advice. 

Annie0707

Good morning,

I have posted a couple of times for advise early on in the DMP journey, thank you for your previous responses, I find this forum very useful and reassuring.  I stopped paying my debts and have ignored all contact with the creditors since around Oct/Nov time.  Several of the accounts have defaulted but many have not.  I am not sure what to do now, do I set up my DMP and start paying the defaulted ones, but wait for the others to default before I start paying them? They are more than 6 months in arrears.  I have had a couple of aggressive letters from debt collectors, should I respond to them?

I am worried about being taken to court.  I also wonder if they will want to see my bank statements and if they ask do I have to show them, or just give them a statement of affairs to prove I can't pay?

Thank you 

cottonbud12

Hi all,
I started a thread on one of the other posts regarding me considering a DMP.
I've been looking through these posts aiming to get some more advice and information and have a couple of queries - 
1. People talk about not paying cards etc for 6 months to get a default - is this a good idea?
2. People say that as a result of this, they can save an emergency fund - what is this used for?
3. People are referring to getting a CCA - what is this and how does it help?
4. Is getting a default from a card provider a good idea?
I realise some of these may be daft questions but just looking fro a bit of guidance.
Thanks